Chapter 140: A Messy Situation

He startedle awake and opened his eyes, only to discover that he was lying beneath a towering ancient tree.

A gentle breeze blew, and the sun set behind the western hills!

A clear spring flowed through the mountain ravine, and the lone wild goose and the sunset clouds at the horizon outlined a beautiful and magnificent natural painting.

Looking at the little white fox lying beside him, Su Yuanshan was bewildered; he slowly stood up from the bluestone and thought, could it be that what just happened was only a dream?

Suddenly, he heard snatches of a song drifting from not far away, and even the little white fox could not help but open its eyes, looking around curiously in the direction of the sound.

Su Yuanshan asked suddenly.

"Xiaobai, did you have a dream just now? Did you dream of..."

"A person who looks almost exactly like you?" The little white fox's words stirred Su Yuanshan's heart, and he sighed.

"So you know too? It seems that it must not have been a dream!"

"How good to be an immortal, how good to be an immortal, forgetting all about the mundane worries of oil and salt.

Those who come and go are either immortals or Daoists, a game of unfinished chess, the years are peaceful and quiet.

Drinking wine and chatting happily, in the Jade Pool, in the palaces of the celestial maidens, by the Bright Moon Bridge, admiring the immortal peaches in the courtyard..."

The singing grew closer. Su Yuanshan looked up and saw an old man gathering firewood, carrying a load of wood on his back and holding a wine gourd, drinking and singing as he went—how carefree and happy!

Su Yuanshan walked over, cupped his hands, and asked.

"May I ask, old sir, what is the name of this forest?"

Upon hearing this, the old man set down the bundle of wood, sized him up, and said with a chuckle.

"This is the Baili Shanwei Lin. I see you don't seem to be a local, young master; what brings you here?"

"Shanwei Lin?"

Su Yuanshan was taken aback by these words. He glanced at the firewood the man had cut and could not help but ask.

"I heard there is a rule in these parts—isn't it said that people are not allowed to come up the mountain to cut firewood?"

The old man laughed when he heard this.

"There is indeed such a rule, but the one you are talking about is the Xi Wei Lin; this here is the Dong Wei Lin!"

Su Yuanshan was startled.

"Xi Wei Lin? Dong Wei Lin? It's divided into east and west?"

"Of course!"

The old man pointed toward the large mountain to the west and said.

"Look, that stretch of forest is the Xi Wei Lin. It is an ominous place. Those few villages at the foot of the mountain are all empty; everyone died, and it has been desolate for several years now. Even the magistrate hasn't been able to figure out the reason to this day!"

The villages are empty? Everyone died?

Hearing these words, Su Yuanshan's entire head felt muddled.

If everyone died, what about that old man who spends all day sunning himself under the big willow tree?

People from several villages died all at once; why is there no record in the ledgers?

Not just that old man, but the woodcutter, and even that fellow who looks almost exactly like himself—surely these weren't recorded in the ledgers submitted by the Judge, right?

This is a lot of information to take in!

Su Yuanshan felt a bit of a headache; he vaguely sensed that something had changed, and it was a bad change.

He thought to himself, it seems this Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi is not omnipotent after all.

He had only come here to repair that City God's Demon-Slaying Sword, never expecting to get tangled up in so many troublesome matters.

He hadn't even had a chance to deal with that Baie Hou yet, and he didn't know if the Yinchai had found his tracks. And then there was the Penglai Immortal Trial—that was his true goal!

According to what Guangwang Shenjun implied, if one wins, the Nine-Turn Golden Pill, flat peaches, immortal dew, and even immortal artifacts and divine artifacts are just appetizers!

If that's the case, wouldn't the other rewards be things that a small immortal like me wouldn't even dare to imagine? Is it the Five-Colored Divine Light, or the River Chart and Luo Script? Is it the Map of Mountains and Rivers, the Pangu Banner, or the Soul-Summoning Banner? Is it the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, or the Treasure-Gathering Pagoda?

If I could obtain just one of the Innate Spiritual Treasures, I would be satisfied; I am not greedy!

Of course, this was just Su Yuanshan's own wishful thinking within the limits of his knowledge. As for whether there are treasures even more powerful than these, only Heaven knows!

Su Yuanshan felt that Guangwang Shenjun probably wouldn't lie to him, because there seemed to be no profit in doing so.

After cupping his hands to Su Yuanshan, the old man hoisted his dry firewood again, singing his immortal song, and walked down the mountain with uneven steps.

He checked his Spirit Void Ring and found that Mu Qingcao's divine stone tablet was inside; he had tucked it away during the emergency.

Su Yuanshan breathed a sigh of relief, then used his 'Cloud-Raising' divine office to summon mist, and rode the mist into the air, departing before long.

Upon returning to the Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi, only the spirit officials in charge of the six divisions, such as the Merit-Rewarding Division, the Evil-Punishing Division, and the Rapid-Reporting Division, came to greet him, but there was no sign of the Wen Panguan Ji Wenqing or the Wu Panguan Zhai Burang.

Su Yuanshan could not help but frown slightly and asked.

"Where are the two Judges? Why are they nowhere to be seen?"

The spirit official in charge of the Rapid-Reporting Division replied respectfully.

"Reporting to the Prefecture Lord, because of his merit, the Wen Panguan has been promoted and has gone to report for duty in Ningliang Prefecture.

As for the Wu Panguan... he has also been promoted, but it is unknown where he went. We have yet to find any trace of him; we will report to the Prefecture Lord once we have found him!"

Su Yuanshan nodded slightly.

"I see! Is there any news about Baie Hou?"

The spirit official in charge of the Inspection Division shook his head upon hearing this, looking somewhat ashamed.

"We have yet to find him!"

"This minor god has failed in his duties; I ask the Prefecture Lord to punish me!"

Considering that Baie Hou's movements were secretive, Su Yuanshan did not reprimand him too harshly; he simply gave instructions regarding Mu Qingcao and had a divine seat set up for her in a side hall.

After completely handing over all the various affairs of the Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi, Su Yuanshan finally took out the Ningliang Prefecture City God's seal and completely absorbed his own Huangliang County City God's Mountain and River Seal.

By the time he finished all this, three days had already passed.

Su Yuanshan knew that he should also head to Ningliang Prefecture to take up his post.

By then, he would no longer be a mere "County Magistrate," but a "high official" in charge of the territory of an entire prefecture!

The various officials, both great and small, of the Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi almost all turned out in full force to respectfully see Su Yuanshan off as he departed to take up his new post.

"Respectfully seeing off the Prefecture Lord!"

"Wishing the Prefecture Lord a smooth journey!"

Although Su Yuanshan chose to depart at night, the entire Huangliang Xiancheng was filled with gusts of ghostly wind, making for quite a lively scene.

Whirlwinds blowing paper money could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys!

They escorted him all the way to the Ten-Mile Pavilion before the various Yin spirits finally departed.

Su Yuanshan then used his divine office of Cloud Raising to summon clouds and mist, then soared into the air and headed straight for the capital of Ningliang Prefecture.

Originally, the bright moon hung in the sky and the weather was clear for ten thousand miles; Su Yuanshan had been in a fairly good mood during the flight, but for some reason, as soon as he left the borders of Huangliang Xian, the sky became overcast, and the closer he got to Ningliang Prefecture, the more severe the situation became!

Moreover, the ground became increasingly desolate, and the population became increasingly sparse!

The capital of Ningliang Prefecture was near the border of the Kaicheng Dynasty; constant warfare and rampant demon infestations had made life miserable for the people. Su Yuanshan knew this and was mentally prepared for the loss of population, but he had not expected the situation to be this severe!

It was actually nine empty houses out of ten!

Su Yuanshan stood atop the clouds with his brows tightly furrowed, thinking to himself that if things continued like this, it would be impossible to meet the requirements of the Penglai Great Immortal Trial and accumulate the incense of three million people with this little population! It was not even worth thinking about!

With a heavy heart, Su Yuanshan lowered his clouds; he changed his mind temporarily, deciding not to enter the city to take up his post yet, and instead planned to first understand the situation among the common people in the countryside.